


Red, the Color of My Heart

by HiShou



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (brief mention of transforming Galra Keith), (if you can find it I'll give you a cookie), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I love the idea of Cuban Lance singing this song to his family, Keith (Voltron) is Dying, Lance (Voltron) is in Shock, M/M, Major Character Injury, Song: Proud Corozan, Songfic, Trauma, and then having to sing it in this horrific situation, depictions of blood, klangst, this entire thing is just klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 06:43:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14075217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiShou/pseuds/HiShou
Summary: A harsh sound broke through the stillness of the room. Lance watched in horror as Keith began to cough up more blood.This time it didn’t stop. Feral panic leaked into every cell of Lance’s body at the sight of the red pool that was steadily forming between them.‘Too much!’ He thought hysterically. ‘There’s too blood!!’





	Red, the Color of My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I bet my friend that I could write and post a Klance oneshot in 48 hours. I’m two days late. But hey, I finished it! 
> 
> (Disclaimer: The lyrics are taken straight from the song "Proud Corazón”, from the Pixar movie Coco. I realize that Cuban Spanish is probably very different from Mexican Spanish, and that I demonstrate some very not safe First Aid techniques, but please enjoy reading anyway.)

Keith couldn't feel his body.

He couldn't feel anything. He was drifting. Floating through a vacuum of Nothing.

An eternity passed before he heard it. A quiet, muffled sound rippling through the void. An insistent presence that brushed up against the foggy barrier of his mind.

A voice. It felt...familiar. Safe.

 

Keith followed it through the darkness.

 

~~~~

 

“ _Dios!!_  Oh no. Okay. It’s okay. I’m here now. I’m here, so just—hang on buddy! It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you.” Lance’s panicked ramblings permeated throughout the cramped space of the Galran storage container.

It was the only warning Keith had before his surroundings came crashing down around him.

 

The plunge back into cognition was overwhelming. His brain flooded with stimulation as every prickling sensation came into sharp focus. The feeling of slipping back into his body left him reeling.

Once the intensity of his return settled, Keith realized the numbness from before was still there—he couldn’t feel anything in his chest—and it seemed be spreading. Some deeper part of him knew he should probably be concerned by this, but his thoughts were still too muddled, surrounded by a thick blanket of fog.

Keith vaguely registered that he was being held. His indigo eyes flickered open.

He shifted slightly, trying to focus. Once he did, he was met with the color blue. Dancing spots in his vision made it hard to concentrate, yet Keith clung to that brilliant blue color through his slippery consciousness.

 

Lance gasped when Keith began stirring, eyes widened, locking desperately onto the boy laying limp in his arms.

When Keith's own bleary gaze finally found a focal point in Lance’s panicked one, the raven-haired boy’s brows pinched together in confusion. 

Why was Lance so upset? That...wasn’t right.

That dull, frosty blue color in the Cuban boy's eyes was usually so warm and bright. Keith was used to seeing those same eyes sparkle and crinkle with laughter, or sharpen in concentration and fixed determination. Seeing them now—distorted in terror and...dismay?—left him feeling hollow. It was so  _wrong_.

 

“Lance..”

 

The moment the sound left his lips, Keith’s expression morphed in pain. His whole body rocked upward with a sudden, harsh jerk, head thrashing helplessly as he choked on blood that poured from his mouth in relentless streams.

 

“ _Coño!!_ ” Lance rushed to turn Keith onto his side to keep his airway open and prevent him from suffocating. Cursing a ferocious string of Spanish, he smashed the side of his helmet to activate his com. 

“GUYS! WE NEED AN EXTRACTION RIGHT NOW!!” He barked furiously into his head gear.

 

 **Static**.

 

“SOMEONE ANSWER ME! PLEASE!!”

 

His heart clenched tighter with each second of white noise.

 

Keith gasped in pain before bodily heaving up more fluids, tortured whimpers tearing from his throat between retches.

 

Distraught, Lance placed his hands around any uninjured parts of Keith’s body that he could find. He began rubbing circles into the pale boy’s back and arms in an attempt to comfort him—speaking soft words of encouragement, while doing his best to suppress his own mounting horror as he tried to prevent his friend from drowning in his own blood.

“It’s okay, Keith.” It wasn’t okay. It was so not okay. “Someone is going to be here soon. I know it. Shiro will tear this whole ship down to get to you if he has to. Pidge must know where we are by now, so we’re going to be fine. You'll see. Just...just hang on! Please Keith!”

 

Lance quickly surveyed the damage done to the Red Paladin. From what he could tell, there were several cuts scattered all across Keith’s torso. His too pale skin was marred by dark purple bruises that may actually be the beginnings of a transformation into his Galra form. 

Thankfully, most of the cuts didn’t look too deep, but there was one particularly nasty-looking gash trailing across the length of his stomach. His left leg also appeared to be broken.

But it was the damage under the surface that Lance was most worried about. The damage done to his organs, the source of his internal hemorrhaging that just wouldn’t seem to _stop_.

 

_‘Oh god, what did they do to you?!’_

 

~~~~

 

It had happened so fast. One moment Keith was _there_ , sneaking with him down the halls of one of Haggar’s transport ships—the two had infiltrated the disguised Galran transporter for reconnaissance, seeing what kind of supplies the empire was secretly distributing throughout several quadrants—but the next time Lance turned to check something with the Red Paladin, he was gone.

 

Lance was immediately on edge. The fact that Keith ran off somewhere wasn't exactly a big shocker. The reckless Red Paladin was known for always flying off on his own. His notoriously short patience and fiery hot temper got him caught up in all kinds hairy situations, literally _all. the. damn. time_. It was his thing. But he never left without saying something, or letting one his teammates know where he was going beforehand.

He wouldn’t just abandon Lance in the middle of a mission without a word.

 

Would he?

 

 _‘No’_ , Lance thought. He mentally swatted that unwelcome notion away. _‘It’s not like that. We’re a team. And Keith is my friend.’_

 

His friend.

 

That wasn’t always the case. Right before Keith had left for the Blade of Marmora, they had finally started to get along far better than when Voltron was first formed. The fierce combativeness and rivalry that had always defined their relationship was still there, but so was a deeper understanding and steadfast trust.

When Keith left to train with the Blade on his own though, things… well things just weren’t the same.

 

Voltron still had missions to carry out, and a war to fight, and Galra ass to kick—but without their grumpy Red Paladin, it always felt like something was missing from the team. An empty space at the dinner table that should have been filled. A missing laugh from the common room area during game night. 

Lance didn’t think he’d miss the angry edgelord™ so much. Miss picking fights with him, and showing off new combat moves, and seeing who could eat the most funky looking alien foodstuff the fastest.

 

When Keith came back to Voltron, after Zarkon had been defeated and Lotor secured the throne—clearing the path for the resistance to clean up the many atrocities leftover from ten thousand years of conquest—Keith had filled that missing place in the team. He had also filled the empty spot in Lance’s affections.

Lance didn't know it until then, but Keith held a greater place in his heart than he had ever realized. His stupid, traitorous heart that skipped several beats when those blazing indigo eyes locked with his own steely blue after far too long, then sped up ten times faster than what should really be healthy once the two had finally reunited.

Keith had smiled gently back at Lance then, eyes shining mischievously as they embraced. “Hey, _buddy_. Did you miss me?”

He really did.

 

It was surprising how quickly Keith had burrowed his way into Lance’s affections after that. Digging straight through to the very core of his being and making a home there. Like a meerkat. Lance snorted at the mental image of a mulleted, meerkat Keith nestling cozily into his heart. As ridiculous as the idea was, it left him with a warm glow-y sort of feeling.

But now was not the time to be thinking about the stupid meerkat Keith picture he would most certainly be drawing to show off to Hunk later. No, he had to go save his reckless friend, who was probably struggling through some new sticky situation he managed to get himself into, just waiting for his Lance in shining armor™ to come rescue him. 

 

 

He didn’t expect to find Keith, broken and tossed haphazardly into an empty container unit, writhing in agony and fighting for his life.

 

~~~~

 

“ _Shit!_ ”

 

Lance tore off the fractured remains of Keith’s armor and tried to stop the bleeding with his hands. It gushed through his fingers, soaking everything in red.

 

“Shit shit shit shit _SHIT!!_ ”

 

He stripped off his own chest plate, ripping the sleeves of his under-armor suit and tying them together. He then wrapped the material in a makeshift tourniquet around the worst of Keith's open wounds. After he finished his ministrations, Lance gently laid Keith across his lap, careful to keep his head elevated so the rushing liquid wouldn’t choke him.

 

Now that he had done all he could for the injured boy, Lance's pulse thudded painfully in his chest—the horrific reality of their situation finally sinking in. Wild, unrestrained panic coursed through him as he realized just how trapped they really were. He couldn’t carry Keith out like this. Not with how slow they’d have to move to avoid opening his wounds further. The sentries would find them in a heartbeat. And Keith was too injured to risk transporting without help.

They were stuck in this tiny storage container until the team could rescue them.

 

If the team even knew that they needed rescuing.

 

 _‘No!’_ Lance thought, firmly. They _had_ to know by now! After the two paladins failed to check in, Allura would have sent in reinforcements to come find them. Lance had to believe they were on their way. 

All he could do for Keith now was comfort him. And try to ease his pain. And stay calm. He hadn’t been doing a very good job of that so far, had he?

 

Lance ran a nervous hand through his hair, forgetting about the blood soaking the skin of his palm until the red liquid was dripping down his short strands into his eyes. A terror-stricken moan ripped out of him as he scrubbed fiercely at his face, trying to get the gruesome stuff off. 

Taking in a sharp, shaking breath that scraped the insides of his throat and burned a trial down to his lungs, Lance desperately tried to regain control of his frayed nerves and analyze the situation.

He was the one that came up with a strategy when things got tough. He always gave the team hope in hopeless situations. That was his thing.

 

He tried. He really did, but he couldn’t think up a single thing that would fix this. He was too panicked. Too delirious with fear to think straight.

 

Calm. He had to remain calm and think of a way to get them out of this. He had to save Keith, no matter what. Keith, who was literally _dying in his arms_ every second Lance _wasted_ by panicking! Why couldn’t he think of a single, goddamn thing to do?! He was failing his friend. Letting him die because he couldn’t think straight. Keith was going to _**die**_ , and it would be all Lance’s fault. What the fuck was wrong with him?! Why couldn’t he do anything to save the people he loved?! _**Why did he always have to be so goddamn useless?!?**_

 

...

 _NO_.

Thinking like that wouldn’t help Keith. He had to calm down. He needed to be strong now, and not do anything that showed just how fucking terrified he really was and end up scaring Keith even more. Oh god, Keith..

Lance pulled his trembling fingers through the boy's bangs and across his scalp, running down the nape of his neck to play with his mullet, the motion soothing to them both—it grounded Keith who leaned into the touch, while allowing Lance a chance to think. What did he usually do to calm himself down?

 

Oh...

He would hum the lullaby his mother used to sing him.

 

His eyes glazed over with the ghosts of fading memories. The feeling of warmth. Of security. Of large meals and bright smiles and loving faces.

_Home._

 

A sharp pain tore through his heart. He realized that _this_ was the only thing he could do for Keith now. Provide what little comfort he could and pray that they'd be rescued soon.

Trying not to think about how utterly useless and pathetic he was—how he was _failing_ his friend......and how much he just wanted to go home—he suppressed the crippling emotions that welled up inside him like a monsoon, threatening to overwhelm him.

 

And he started to sing.

 

 _“Dirás que es raro lo que me pasó,”_ he began. The old Spanish melody flowed from Lance's lips in a soothing murmur, surprisingly steady given how shook up he was inside. _“Parece que anoche te encontré en mis sueños. Las palabras que dije se --”_.

 

A harsh sound broke through the stillness of the room. Lance watched in horror as Keith began to cough up more blood.

This time it didn’t stop. Feral panic leaked into every cell of Lance’s body at the sight of the red pool that was steadily forming between them.

 _'Too much!’_ He thought hysterically. _‘There’s too blood!!’_

 

The coughing soon turned into whimpers of pain—Keith struggling to suppress the sounds.

He watched miserably as the broken boy tried using what little strength he had left to stay resilient, possibly even hide the true extent of his injuries for Lance’s sake. But with each passing moment it became harder and harder to keep his composure, and anguished cries bubbled their way up his throat. Keith couldn’t stop himself from clutching his chest in agony.

 

Something deep within Lance’s core fractured at the sight.

 

His rival...the one who had always pushed him to be his best, who Lance had always aimed to reach, was weakened and vulnerable. Keith never gives in. He always keeps fighting, tooth and nail, no matter what the odds. It was part of his Galran heritage or whatever. The urge to fight was practically infused in his DNA. Lance couldn’t believe that this would ever happen to the headstrong, passionate fighter he had come to admire and care deeply about. It shouldn’t be this way. Keith doesn’t give up. He would never yield, not until he had succeeded or...

 

...or died.

 

Hot tears began spilling from those wide, indigo eyes—eyes that contained countless, fathomless galaxies—salty streams mingling with the gore on the red paladin's face.

In that moment, Keith was no longer the hardened solider who could destroy entire armadas of enemies, who flew magic space lions and rescued planets and saved the entire universe. He was no longer a legendary warrior...he was a scared, young man.

Lance saw the way Keith’s hunched form sagged almost imperceptibly in resignation before he let out a broken sob.

 

And Lance’s heart shattered.

 

The awful image of Keith relinquishing his will to live burned its way into Lance’s brain, branded permanently into his memory. His own eyes widened, vacant and traumatized.

Without thinking, Lance continued his comforting ministrations through it all, rubbing slow circles into Keith’s back and shifting long fingers through, soft wild bangs, trying desperately to keep the pieces of himself together and not let the cracks rupture further.

 

Thankfully, the blood stopped flowing freely from Keith's mouth after a few minutes. Lance couldn’t stop himself from wondering if it was because his wounds were finally clotting or because Keith's body was simply running out of blood.

Keith started shivering uncontrollably, but didn’t cry out anymore. Lance held onto him tighter.

 

“L—Lance….” Keith rasped.

Lance jolted. He was surprised that the dark-haired boy could still manage to speak.

“Y-yeah?” he croaked, eyes locking onto his companion despairingly.

“Lance...keep singing. Please?” Keith’s quiet request was muffled into Lance’s shoulder. The voice sounded too small to have come from the fiery red paladin.

“Of course, bud. You got it.” Lance pulled him closer, shifting the broken boy into a position he prayed was more comfortable. Carefully, he placed his knees on either side of his friend’s injured torso, using his hands to support Keith’s back flush against his chest while moving Keith’s head further up his shoulder to lean against his neck.

 

Lance felt warm blood run down the line of his collar beneath his suit.

 

With a sharp, shuddering breath, the Cuban boy continued to sing, even as tears flowed uncontrollably and warbled his voice. _“Parece que anoche te encontré en mis sueños. Las palabras que dije se volvieron canción. Versos que tuyos son y el recuerdo nos dio…”_

He choked on a sob. Lance watched as his tears mixed with Keith’s own, creating swirling patterns of translucent red on his too pale, stained cheeks. He carefully cupped Keith’s face, wiping at the mess with gentle strokes as he continued.

_“Una melodía bella que el alma tocó,_

_Con el ritmo que vibra en nuestro interior._

_Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, en el latido de mi corazón…”_

 

He couldn’t lose Keith. Not when he had just discovered how much this brave, beautiful boy meant to him. There was still so much he had to tell him! So much he had to do!

 

**_He couldn’t let Keith die!!_ **

 

_“Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, en el latido de mi corazón…”_

 

Keith closed his eyes. Lance began crying hysterically.

 

He wished it was him instead.

 

_“Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, en el latido de mi corazón…”_

 

A loud commotion broke through the silence. The sounds of several footsteps flooded the area around their container. Galra.

There was no way to get back to the team now. It was too late. His eyes stayed locked on the lifeless boy in his arms. Still, he continued stroking his hands through Keith’s hair, clutching the limp body possessively.

 

He refused to leave Keith.

 

 

Let them find him.

 

 

_“Una melodía bella que el alma tocó...”_

 

He heard crude banging outside the metal container.

 

_“Con el ritmo que vibra en nuestro interior…”_

 

Voices were yelling at each other, just on the other side of the door.

 

_“Amor verdadero nos une por siempre,”_

 

The container began to open.

 

_“en el latido de mi corazón….....”_

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I can’t stand this ending. But I wanted to get my oneshot up as soon as possible with how badly I was failing my bet. SO. The oneshot will eventually become a TWOshot, with a bonus chapter coming out as soon as I get my shit together. (I can't leave these precious babies to suffer like this!! Ugh, I seriously wanted to punch myself several times throughout this writing process). Thank you for reading until the very end, you absolute angel of a human being.
> 
> This is actually my first completed fic ever, **cue confetti streamers!!** I know it's super crummy, but I wanted to do my part to help keep the klance train a rollin'.
> 
>  
> 
> Here's a link to the Spanish version of the song I used from Coco: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeiHP4AfxN0 -- (How do you post actual links up on this thing???)  
>  
> 
> Aaaaaaand~ if you feel like your heart didn't break nearly enough, I STRONGLY recommend looking up the direct translation for the lyrics, (cause the English version of the song is way different). ((Also I'm not afraid to admit that I just popped the spanish lyrics directly into google translate while I was deciding where to put them throughout the story)).
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ***UPDATE: So I went through and edited a ton of this fic, as well as made some changes to the information in the notes and tags sections. Now that I'm more or less happy with this final revision, there's a very high chance that I'll just end up leaving it the way it is now. I had originally planned for Keith to only be temporarily dead, (seeing as that's a running theme with this show), but I posted the 'Major Character Death' tag cause I really don't want to surprise anyone with this ending. I like to think that it's open-ended enough where things could actually turn out well like I had originally intended, (or not, if that's what you prefer). But whatever the reader decides they want to imagine comes next is fine with me. I'll just leave this as the tragic little one-shot it was supposed to be and throw it out into the universe......***


End file.
